As a 17-year-old kid in the…

As a 17-year-old kid in the city, it's crucial that you keep bike lanes available for me to travel through. Without bike lanes, there is a higher likelihood of accidents to occur (there is a 50% reduction in injury occurrences according to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program). It would be a great catastrophe for the public good if there was a sudden 50% rise in cyclist injuries, especially since many teenagers and kids like me utilize these crucial bike arteries for transportation.

And in addition to the of safety of children (which I believe the Ford government believes in), adding extra lanes won't solve traffic. You have induced demand so there will still be gridlock, and instead, the cyclists who can't get to places safely with then turn to cars and the TTC which would crowd our already overcrowded infrastructure.

These bike lanes also release strain on our infrastructure because they divert massive demographics of commuters from the TTC and our roads onto bike lanes. Without these bike lanes, you would be forcing more strain on our infrastructure which would require even greater investment to solve.

We've already invested into the bike lanes as a city, and the city is facing fiscal problems, thus removing what we've already invested would just mean money waste. And for what? We would then require more infrastructure investment to solve the problem of overcapacity, and there would be the same traffic due to induced demand. So in the end, you're spending more money on solving our traffic problems which entirely goes against government efficiency.

These bike lanes incentivize people to cycle as a method of commuting, which not only releives traffic, but also promotes good mental and physical health. We as a nation face massive obesiety and mental health problems, alleviating some of the strain on our health by cycling would be a common good and a net benefit for society. The positive externalities from bikes echo out to our wider economy and healthcare system, where healthier people are more productive and innovative, and require less support from the health care system.

In stark contrast, the negative externalities from removing bike lanes from these major arteries would mean the opposite, you would have an unhealthy populous and a more strained healthcare system. That is completely counterintuitive to the progression of our society.

Mr. Ford, this proposal does not make any economic or logical sense. If passed, the only reason would be political. It's counterintuitive to the public good, poses many negative externatilies, and would lead to worse outcomes for us as a province.

I hope you reconsider.